US Army Drilled To See All Muslims as Terrorists

TORONTO - An American seeking to become the first US soldier grantedrefugee status in Canada after refusing to serve in Iraq told immigrationofficials yesterday that the Army was drilling its soldiers to think of allArabs and Muslims as potential terrorists.

"We were being told that it was a new kind of war, that these were evilpeople and they had to be dealt with," Pfc Jeremy Hinzman, 26, told theImmigration and Refugee Board on the second of his three-day hearing forpolitical asylum.

"We were told that we would be going to Iraq to jack up some terrorists,"said Hinzman, who fled from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, on January 2 andnow lives in Toronto with his 31 year-old wife, Nga Nguyen, and 2 year-oldson Liam.

He said US military training since Sept 11 is designed to "foster anattitude of hatred. It gets your blood boiling to carry out the mission."Hinzman is arguing that the war in Iraq is illegal and fighting in it wouldhave made him a war criminal.

He also said he would face prosecution if forced to return to the UnitedStates because he likely would be court-marshalled and sentenced to an Armyjail.

Immigration and Refugee Board officials noted that others who had desertedfrom the military typically spent only one year in jail."Serving one day in prison for refusing to comply with an illegal order isone day too long," Hinzman told the tribunal, which likely will takeseveral weeks to reach its decision.

Hinzman said he enlisted for four years in 2000 to experience the army,believing it would give him guidance and maturity. But he fled the 82ndAirborne Division about two weeks after learning his outfit would be sentto Iraq. Hinzman had served three years in the Army and applied forconscientious objector status before his unit was sent to Afghanistan in2002, but the Army told him it lost his application.

He said he wanted to fulfil his service obligation but not to participatein combat. "The military is to fight justified wars," said his lawyerJeffrey House, an American who first came to Canada as a draft dodgerduring the Vietnam War…

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